Widow stabbed to death

UNANSWERED phone calls gave people the first clue that something was wrong at the Mount View home where 51-year-old Venotha Ince was found dead yesterday morning.

Contractors who were scheduled to carry out renovations found her when they looked through an open window, a neighbour who did not wish to be named told The Witness.

Her car was still parked inside her property.

Police believe she had been stabbed several times in the chest while in bed. Her body was found slumped against a wall in the doorway of her bedroom.

Only a cellphone and a bag were missing, said police spokesperson Lieutenant Joey Jeevan.

Her close friend Eugene Augustine said he had last seen Ince on Tuesday evening and spoke to her on the phone yesterday morning.

“I didn’t know that would be the last time we spoke,” he said.

Augustine spoke of Ince as someone who was “so caring, so friendly”.

“I have never met someone like her.”

He said he had known her since 2006.

Ince was widowed, lived alone and had no children.

She recently left her job, selling furniture, having become financially secure, police and friends said at the scene.

“There was no sign of forced entry,” said Jeevan.

Contractor Verandera Ramkilowan, who was renovating her kitchen, said he received a missed call from Ince but when he called her back there was no answer.

“I was in the shower when she called me at about 7 am,” he said.

“I returned her call as soon as I was done in the shower, but there was no response.”

When Ramkilowan got to Ince’s house, he called her out through the gate and there was no response.

“I think I called about 11 times and there was nothing,” he said.

Augustine said he was called to the scene by a security company.

“I thought that she collapsed or something. I really didn’t expect this.”

Around 50 people, including friends and family, had gathered at Ince’s home when a mortuary van took her body away. They stood around in stunned silence, some hugging one another as they wept.

Ince’s late husband had been a police officer, stationed at the police garage.

Her neighbour spoke of how vulnerable he felt in Mount View.

“There are many break-ins,” he said.

“I don’t sleep. The dogs bark and I have to go up and check, check, check.”

He added that street lights often did not work.

Join the conversation!

24.com encourages commentary submitted via MyNews24. Contributions of 200 words or more will be considered for publication.

We reserve editorial discretion to decide what will be published. Read our comments policy for guidelines on contributions.

24.com publishes all comments posted on articles provided that they adhere to our Comments Policy. Should you wish to report a comment for editorial review, please do so by clicking the 'Report Comment' button to the right of each comment.

Tell us a bit about yourself:

Saving your profile

Settings

News24 allows you to edit the display of certain components based on a location.
If you wish to personalise the page based on your preferences, please select a
location for each component and click "Submit" in order for the changes to
take affect.

Your Location*

Weather*

Always remember my setting

Saving your settings

Facebook Sign-In

Hi News addict,

Join the News24 Community to be involved in breaking the news.

Log in with Facebook to comment and personalise news, weather and listings.